Leveraging guest-room technology: a tale of two guest profiles

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine hotel guests’ attitudes toward guest room technologies (GRTs) and determine whether hotel guests’ characteristics and attitudes regarding GRTs vary according to hotel guest typologies. Design/methodology/approach The data were gathered from a sample of 508 hotel guests who had stayed in a hotel in the past 12 months via a self-administered survey on Qualtrics survey software. The analysis of the study consisted of two main research steps: identification of cluster groups via the K-means cluster analysis algorithm and discriminant analysis; and performing a series of chi-square analyses to determine whether hotel guests’ characteristics and attitudes vary according to obtained hotel guest typologies. Findings Results indicated significant attitudinal (e.g. internet payment preference) and demographic (e.g. age) differences among the obtained hotel guest typologies regarding their attitudes toward GRTs. Practical implications The results provide valuable guidance and a pragmatic approach for those hotel managers that aim to generate tailored marketing strategies for guest segments that are interested in GRTs. Originality/value This study concentrates on GRTs with a market segmentation approach by using advanced statistical procedures. It contributes to the body of related research literature by offering empirical evidence where the study evaluates the impact of the availability of new GRTs on guest decision-making based on the principles of the theory of planned behavior. Practitioners will be able to use the presented findings to generate marketing and pricing strategies with respect to the technological needs and wants of each typology.